Michigan has arrived in Tampa, Florida, for its New Year's Eve kick against the Alabama Crimson Tide in what will be a rematch of last season's epic Rose Bowl showdown, a game the Wolverines won, 27-20, in overtime.

The Wolverines held their first practice of the trip on Friday after arriving the day after Christmas. Excitement surrounding Michigan's borderline elite recruiting class is certainly palpable — five-star QB Bryce Underwood is leading the way in that regard — but the team is still preparing for a battle against Alabama.

Before practice began on Friday, key players of the Michigan offense met with reporters to discuss the ReliaQuest Bowl. Starting quarterback Davis Warren talked about the transition from Michigan's 13-10 win over Ohio State to now preparing for the game against the Crimson Tide.

"You get those couple weeks between Ohio (State) and this game, and you get a chance to reflect a little bit on the season, but I think we've taken it in stride and taken it as a real opportunity to get better at football and thinking about things you did during the year, things you did well, things you can improve on, and how you can work on them over these next two to three weeks of practice that we've had. ... That's been the goal — just getting better at football and preparing for our opponent while doing it," Warren said.

Notably, Warren began the year as the starter, but lost his job to Alex Orji after throwing three interceptions against Arkansas State in Week 3. But after experiments with Orji and Jack Tuttle failed, Warren was reinserted as a starter ahead of the Michigan State game.

Warren finished out the regular season strong, capping it off with an emphatic 13-10 win over Ohio State in Columbus.

Still, though, this season marks the first time in four years that the Wolverines are not playing for a national title, and with a star-studded recruiting class coming in, it's hard for fans not to look ahead to 2025.

But ignoring what fans might be thinking about, Warren says the team isn't looking past Alabama at all.

"I don't think we're overlooking (the game) at all. ... As a group, we're focused on winning this football game," Warren said. "Michigan needs us to win this game, we want to win this game and we plan on winning this game. So, I know we're going to take that approach. It's a really good opportunity for all of us. Man, we're going to fight tooth and nail to go get a win."

Michigan will practice on Saturday and Sunday ahead of the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl, which will kick off at Noon ET on Tuesday, Dec. 31.

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